Natural gas leaking from well off Louisiana coast

Workers were attempting to plug a natural gas leak on a well at a platform about 75 miles off the Louisiana coast on Tuesday.

No explosion or blowout was reported. Workers were trying to temporarily plug the well Monday night when they lost control of it, the Associated Press reported. The platform was evacuated safely, the Coast Guard said, and two other wells were shut off.

A “rainbow sheen” of natural gas, more than four miles wide and three-quarters of a mile long, was floating on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, authorities reported after a fly-over assessment Tuesday. How much had spilled was unclear.

The platform, which produces crude oil and natural gas, is owned by Energy Resources Technology Gulf of Mexico LLC.

The leak was initially reported to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on Sunday, Coast Guard spokesman Jonathan Lally told the Los Angeles Times. The Coast Guard learned of the leak Tuesday morning.

Lally said federal authorities are “working closely” with owners of the platform to ensure proper steps are taken.

“The biggest concern right now is making sure this gets plugged,” Lally said.